Shining Light
by RubySanders
Summary: God's love shines brighter than all of the darkness in the world. When we are in conflict with the darkness, God will shine a light in our hearts and show us which path to take. Prequel to A (Not So) Friendly Reunion. T for minor adult themes.


_**A/N: Sorry it's been a while. Been busy graduating college. This story is more or less a prequel to Lab Rats, A (Not So) Friendly Reunion. It is that story that Leo delves into on chapter one. Information about future stories is at the bottom.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: Don't own, never will.**_

 _ **Warnings: Some talk about God involved.**_

 **XXX**

I glanced out of the car and stared out at the torrential rain pour, contemplating the meaning of life. Why did God have to take Janelle from me? Didn't He know that she was the best thing that ever happened to me? Apparently not, otherwise He wouldn't have taken her from me.

Bree talks about how God does everything for a reason. Right now, I am failing to see the reason behind that decision. Janelle was the best thing that happened to me. Sure, she and I broke up quite a bit because of stupid reasons, but I still loved her. I knew everything about her, from her favorite color to her favorite past time. I saw Janelle when she was at her worst and when she was at her best. It does not matter what stage Janelle is at; she is still beautiful.

I had planned to ask her to marry me. I guess I can't do that anymore. That only leaves one option left.

Now, don't get me wrong. I don't believe in divine intervention. That is, up until now. My car, which held half a tank of gas, would not start. It was almost as if the universe was telling me not to go through with my plan to commit suicide. Of course, that's just crazy talk, am I right? Right?

I reached for my phone in my pocket to call for help. Unfortunately, it slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor of the passenger's side. Right as I picked it up, I bumped my head on the glove compartment, which somehow opened. I could have sworn the compartment was closed.

I noticed a picture immediately, one I had hardly bothered to see. There was a picture of Bree with Caitlin and another friend. It took me a moment to realize who the friend was, but once I recognized whom it was, I felt instant sadness. I had completely forgotten about her. She was even closer to Janelle than I was.

I shook my head to clear the cobwebs from my brain as I put the photo back. When I went to start the car, it started. Great, I could now go on with the plan.

Only, I wasn't sure if I wanted to anymore.

I turned the car off and stared at the picture of Bree and Caitlin again. Instead of focusing on the girl, or even focusing on Caitlin, I focused on Bree and my heart felt for her. My relationship with her was different than it was from my relationship with Adam and Chase. I could live if I put Adam and Chase through the pain of losing their brother. Could I live if I put Bree through the pain of losing her brother?

Probably not.

I recalled Bree telling us that God's love shines brighter than all of the darkness in the world. When we are in conflict with the darkness, God will shine a light in our hearts and show us which path to take. The picture of Bree made it clear that going home to Bree would be the right path. So with one final glance at the picture, I started my car up and headed in the direction of home.

As my car came to a stop in front of a gravel driveway, I realized two things. One, this was not my house. Two, my car somehow had gas again. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs out. This was certainly shaping up to be a bizarre afternoon.

Not finding my phone, I let out a sigh of frustration and exited my car. That's when I saw where I was.

"You have got to be kidding me." I was at HER house.

"Leo?"

Not recognizing the voice, I turned my head and saw the speaker. Her shoulder-length chocolate curls mesmerized and her cocoa eyes, drowning in sadness and fear, stared at my shocked cocoa eyes. Just as quickly, the sadness and fear from her eyes were gone.

"Come on in," she offered. She didn't acknowledge me until she had put her bike in the garage and turned to see me staring. "You coming, Leo?"

I snapped out of my momentary loss of judgement and mumbled, "Sure."

I followed her into the kitchen, which looked the same from when I was last there. The only thing different was a teal-colored teapot in the middle of the island. The teapot was a piece of pottery, as the handle to the mug was uneven.

"So… I haven't seen you since the funeral. How are you holding up?" she asked.

I shrugged. "Not that great. The day before…" I paused. I couldn't say the phrase Janelle's death because it was still too painful for me. "The day before, I was going to ask Janelle to marry me, but…"

"But you never did," the girl finished.

I shook my head and stared at the tiled kitchen floor.

"Oh, sorry. Where are my manners? Would you like something to drink?"

"No thank you." I glanced around the kitchen as I tried to think of something to say. "Janelle was the love of my life."

"I don't doubt that. Losing her hurts just as much as it hurts you."

I shook my head. I told her that was impossible; I loved Janelle the most. Of course, she countered by saying that she was closer to Janelle than I ever would be. To my grieving mind, that was asinine.

The two of us argued. Even when I was sure she had won, I wouldn't back down, throwing fact after fact about Janelle in her face. We continued our pointless game for a full five minutes before I threw my hands up and stared at the girl who made my life a living hell for the past few minutes.

"I'd best get going."

She followed me to the door. My hand stopped right as I was about to open the door, and, without thinking about it, I turned around and stared at her. What would it feel like to kiss her? What did her lips feel like? Would they be as passionate and as flavorful as Janelle's kisses? Why was I even thinking about this?

I had no idea what gave me the courage to kiss her on the cheek. Heck, apart from feeling as if I owed her for letting me come in here, I didn't even have a reason. In fact, I had never planned to kiss her before today.

I turned to leave, but she grabbed my hand. She didn't want me to leave. And for some reason, neither did I.

"Leo, wait."

On instinct, I leaned in. She didn't say a word as I closed the distance between friend and more than just a friend. We were flirting with disaster if anyone found out, but we didn't seem to care. Never mind the fact that Janelle was up in heaven and cussing up a storm for my actions.

The kiss was everything a first kiss should be like. Fierce, yet passionate. Strong, yet weak. Long, yet short. Everything about this was so wrong, but this also felt so right. Her strawberry lips kissing mine made me feel as if I was in heaven early. The sadness that tainted her lips ignited a spark within me, igniting every fiber in my body. Kissing her was like taking in oxygen; I needed them to survive. Yet, despite having so much from her, I wanted more.

As soon as we broke apart for more oxygen, I dove in again. In between panted breaths, she suggested we take this upstairs. I was only too happy to comply. That's why I didn't freak out when she lifted me into a bridal carry and walked us to her room. I stared at her as if she was a glass of water for a person who had walked the entire length of the Sahara Desert. Then I kissed her once again.

We could not seem to get our hands off each other. It was by sheer luck we made it to her bed. Otherwise, we might as well have been doing it on the floor.

"Leo, wait." She stopped me right as I was about to take off her shirt. "Are we sure we want to go there?"

"Absolutely," I whispered before I kissed her again.

She and I grabbed some stuff and then headed back to her bed. The only sound the rest of the night and part of the morning was of a bed creaking.

 _ **XXX**_

 _ **A/N: Well, things escalate quickly, don't they? If you are wondering who the girl is, you are going to have to wait two more one-shots and a two-shot. It does not help that I have not even decided which multi-chapter story I wish to choose. I hope you enjoyed the story and I urge you to check out my Leo and Taylor one-shot.**_


End file.
